2017 Berlin Film Festival: Hungarian ‘On Body And Soul’ Wins Golden Bear

Same Day Global TV News & Web Production

2017 Berlin Film Festival: Hungarian ‘On Body And Soul’ Wins Golden Bear

The 2017 Berlinale has come to a close with an awards ceremony recognizing both new and familiar faces for their important and meaningful film productions.

 

[videojs mp4=”http://baderblog.s3.amazonaws.com/stories/belin%20film%20festival%202017/2017%20Berlin%20Film%20Festival.mp4″ poster=”http://baderblog.s3.amazonaws.com/stories/belin%20film%20festival%202017/2017%20Berlin%20Film%20Festival.png” width=”500″ height=”281″ id=”Berlinff2017″ preload=”true”]

 

February 2017 – Berlin, Germany – Bader Studios Europe was on hand as the 67th Berlin Film Festival drew to a close, the awards ceremony kicked off in the German capital city. Dutch director and screenwriter Paul Verhoeven headed up the jury, which included Maggie Gyllenhaal and Diego Luna, as there they awarded the Golden and Silver Bears to a dozen categories. 
 
Berlinale is renowned for being a festival that doesn’t shy away from socio-political sentiment – Last year, the Syrian refugee crisis loomed heavy throughout the event and this year, President Donald Trump and his administration was a main focus during the festival as its line-up offered a palate of politically charged international works.

Films that have generated buzz in the festival include Sebastian Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman and Aki Kaurismaki’s The Other Side of Hope. Lelio’s title, which was produced by Chilean helmer Pablo Larrain (Neruda, Jackie), and picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. His pic Gloria won a Jury Prize for director in Berlin in 2013 as well as a Silver Bear for Best Actress. Finnish director Kaurismaki is typically a Cannes favorite, with projects such as The Man Without A Past and Le Havre winning on the Croisette. 

Earlier in the festival, the Finnish filmmaker announced that refugee drama The Other Side of Hope would be his last turn behind the camera. Interestingly, last year’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner was Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire At Sea, a refugee crisis doc that is nominated for a Best Documentary at thew 2017  Oscars Awards.

The Winners:

The Hungarian drama On Body and Soul has picked up the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 67th Berlin Film Festival. The love story, which is set in a slaughterhouse in Budapest, is written and directed by Ildiko Enyedi. It follows two damaged souls who develop a spiritual kinship with one another. Berlin Jury President Paul Verhoeven said that the entire jury “fell in love with this movie,” which is largely about fears, inhibitions and opening up to others. 

Monika Mecs, Andras Muhi and Erno Mesterhazy are the producers. On Body and Soul sees Enyedi’s return to the international scene after her 1989 title My Twentieth Century, which also played In Competition at the Berlinale Festival.